Making a difference. Together.

The '8:51' concert was held in Lahore on the 8th of November and featured performances by EP, Jal, Call, Roxen and a special appearance by Ali Zafar. Marking a month since the devastating earthquake hit Pakistan, the event aimed to collect funds for the earthquake victims. We talked to the organizers of the event and the musicians who participated in it about the show. Here's what they had to say:

Ali Zafar
It was great to share the stage with all my extremely talented colleagues for such an important cause. I'm honoured to be a part of it and pleased to see the spirit and results.

Farhan Saeed Butt (Jal)
It was a great feeling that we could help the earthquake victims by donating whatever we could. We used our art to collect charity, and I was really happy to see such a huge turnout. So I think we all should continue these kinds of activities in order to collect more money to help the victims.

Goher Mumtaz (Jal)
We managed to collect approximately more than 4 lakh rupees by the end of the show in just 3 hours. It's always good to serve your nation, especially when it is really needed, and this was the right time to do that. And the bands other than Jal (EP, Call, Roxen) and Ali Zafar who showed up for this cause were amazing. The people at Kinnaird College bought the tickets generously to be part of the great effort as well. Everyone worked hard for the fundraiser. Thumbs up!! God bless our nation!!

Junaid (Call)
Participating in this event really made us feel proud. It was a great feeling that our music was being used for a very special cause. No matter how small did we contribute, it still makes us proud that at least we did something, and whenever we will be needed, we will definitely come forward.

Xulfi (Call, EP)
I did not know what the turnout was going to be for the concert, so was a bit confused but the attendance at the venue surprised us. I wish that this passion and motivation might last long.

Musti (Roxen)
It was an indescribable feeling when I came to know that we had raised over 400,000 rupees for the victims through this event. We have shown that we are a united nation and we stand tall.

Khurram Jabbar Khan (Jilawatan Productions)
Since the day this tragedy struck the nation, I was feeling guilty, as I was not able to participate in full. We contributed as much as we could, had already set up a camp at Mini Golf for two weeks, but I felt that something was still missing, and Mustafa of Roxen came up with the idea for this event, which we later named 'Umeed-e-Seher'. We started with a little hope and then things started falling into place and finally we were able to carry this out superbly. EP, Jal, Call, Roxen, Ali Zafar and the rest contributed greatly in making this possible.

- By Sameen Amer

Us Magazine, The News - 2nd December 2005